Coalition Cock-Ups

Why is anyone surprised at the remarks by Lord Young? Did you really think that this coalition government has any kind of reality check going on?

Cameron may distance himself from Youngs comments and claim that they are his individual views, yet I've heard Cameron and other coalition ministers use the phrase 'we're all in it together' on several occassions. Now, with the best will in the world, I really don't see how millionaires and overpaid politicians can be 'in it' with those who are thrown out of work. At what point will they be worrying about paying bills or having their houses repossessed (for clarification, Lord Young, if you are unemployed with a mortgage you can't pay it doesn't matter if the interest rate is zero!).

Lets look at some of the other little quirks in the great plan

• They're going to cut the Housing Benefit bill but make social housing landlords raise rent to 80% of market value. Doesn't that mean more housing benefit will need to be paid?
• As thousands of people are being made unemployed, benefits will be cut for those who don't get one of the jobs that aren't there.
• Although there a few jobs to be had, and most are not paying a living wage, and those who don't have one will be expected to pick litter for £1 and hour

And as I've been writing this post, the BBC have just reported that new tenants of social landlords (Housing associations, council housing etc) will be given fixed two year tenancies. At the end of the two years, the landlord will have to assess the tenants income and then, if they are deemed to earn over whatever limit is set, will be given 6 months notice to get out.

So forget sustainable communities - new tenants will have the threat of eviction dangling over them as soon as they arrive, so why care about the community they may shortly be leaving. Forget affordable housing - 80% market rents is not affordable for someone who earns 6 quid an hour. Forget reducing the housing benefit bill - nearly everyone eligible for social housing will not be earning enough to pay market rents (hence the reason they applied for social housing!). Forget downsizing bureaucracy - we'll need to create income checkers and hire many more court bailiffs for the subsequent evictions

And so on............

But Young was partially right. The politicians, bankers and millionaires have never had it so good.

Deluded

I made the mistake of buying the MoS today. Peter Hitchens was in full rant.

According to the great Hitchen, children suffer terribly if their mothers work and most of societies' social problems are created by the absence of mothers.

No explanation though, of why the children who have children, who live on benefits and spend all their time with their delightful offspring, are the ones whose kids have asbos, criminal records, no aspirations and follow their wonderful child mothers into child motherhood themselves.

All my friends work. They've worked while they brought their kids up and, sadly, we are all now at that age where the kids have grown up and are at University or actually working. Now according to the Hitchens logic surely they should be delinquents who refuse to contribute to the 'Big Society'.

So why the Hitchen attack on working mothers?

Could it be that as a committed Tory (he protests far too much!) he is using his media role on behalf of the government in order to demonise working mothers? Then, in the knowledge that come October, the Comprehensive Spending Review will mean there will be so many unemployed in this country, that the best way to plug the gap will be to oust women from their hard earned jobs.

It may sound like an easy solution but when the country is overloaded with feral, Staffie walking, amoral and violent youngsters, bred off the forced out of work mothers living on a diet of Jeremy Kyle and Netto burgers, then remember how it all came about.